Fashion|Beauty|Lifestyle

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So I came across this makeup line at Sally’s the other day and decided to grab a few things to try while they were having a bogo sale. I love trying new affordable products because if they work well then I’ve found new staple products to reach for in my makeup routine. I purchased the skin tint, matte foundation and radiant foundation to give those a try as well as the loose powder, pressed powder, a blush, the smoothing primer, micellar water, concealer and a color corrector.

Something I first noticed is that this line is not very shade inclusive. There’s only 6 shades in the skin tint and 10 shades in the foundations so the most porcelain skin and the darker skin tones are left out completely. I’m the eighth darkest shade (caramel) in the foundation and the fifth shade in the skin tint. So a lot of skin tones are left out. Both the foundation and skin tint are $14.99 each.

The packaging is nice. Sleek black and greys. The jars are glass. Clean fonts and the foundations come with a pump and the skin tints are in a squeeze tube. The concealer has a doe foot applicator and the color corrector comes in a jar. So it makes application for those easy and you save product. I wanted to try the line together because sometimes products work better with their own.

The skin tint

First up I tried the smoothing primer, skin tint, concealer, blush and pressed powder together. I didn’t use anything else aside from my tarts blush in feisty and my wet n wild highlighting gold bar and I set my face with my Morphe Continuous setting mist. The primer went on like a lotion for the most part. It felt kind of moisturizing for a minute. The skin tint was actually thicker than I thought it would be for it to have been a tint but it gave pretty good coverage. The concealer didn’t have as much coverage as I thought it would so it’s not something I would reach for on a daily basis. The pressed powder was ok. It seemed to set the face for the most part. The blush showed up on me more like a highlight than a blush which is why I added my tarte blush to it. I didn’t contour because I wanted a quick face. I noticed it quickly set into any fine lines I had even after setting with powder. I wore it for a full day of errands, etc. within about an hour I was oily so I was already not too happy with that. I blotted my face and went on with the day. About another hour or so I was oily again. A few hours after that I noticed the skin tint had oxidized. So about 5 hours into wearing it, it had oxidized terribly and had a grayish tint now and I was still oily. I couldn’t wait to get home and take it off. My face felt dirty and itchy and I didn’t like the ashy tint it developed.

The matte foundation

The next day I tried a different combo. I used the primer, matte foundation, color corrector, concealer and loose powder. I used my airspun for under my eyes and my tarte blush again, my wet n wild rainbow highlight and contoured with my nyx bronzer. I set my face with my Morphe continuous setting mist. This time the foundation didn’t oxidize as much as the skin tint did but I was oily within an hour. For a matte foundation I expected more oil control than what I got. The foundation never set on my face once applied at all. It never set to a matte finish it was dewy. It only set once I applied powder. I had to blot my face multiple times throughout an 8 hr wear which I don’t have to do until end of day with most of my matte foundations. So I wasn’t impressed with the matte foundation at all.

The radiant foundation

I didn’t try the radiant foundation alone. I figured since the matte foundation by itself was a bust then I wasn’t even going to attempt it. I instead mixed the radiant foundation with my too faced born this way foundation and did my makeup with the different products that I use on the daily. I wore this combo for about 8 hrs or so and when I got home from work my face was oily but not as bad as it was with the matte foundation by itself. It still settled into some of my lines fairly quickly but it wasn’t as terribly noticeable as the skin tint or the matte foundation. So I will say that mixed with another foundation that already works for my skin this foundation is a bit better but it’s still not something I would reach for on the daily. Especially since I have to mix it with another foundation just to get it to set decently on my face for the day. I may try mixing the matte foundation as well to see how I like that and if it will set better on my face but idk yet.

The powders and Blush

The powder both pressed and loose didn’t really do well to keep my makeup set and help keep oiliness down. It goes on fine but the lasting power just isn’t there. The blush I wasn’t too happy with, it was way too shimmery and seemed to be more of a highlight rather than an actual blush unless you’re more fair skinned even though I got one of the darker shades.

The Smoothing Primer

The primer to me didn’t really do anything nor did it blur any imperfections, it just goes on your face like a lotion and then sets but doesn’t keep your pores, imperfections or oiliness at bay for too long. I feel it may possibly work better on someone with dry to normal skin but for oily skin or combination skin it just wasn’t the best.

The undereye concealer

The under eye concealer was one of the most disappointing for me. I got the darkest peach shade and it kind of just spread around on the face and didn’t really cover much. I used both a stippling brush and concealer brush and then I tried a beauty blender but nothing seems to smooth it out any better. I like my under eye concealer to work really well especially on days that I am sick or my under eyes are especially dark but this just missed the mark completely.

The micellar water

I never actually tried the micellar water so it may have worked fine with removing makeup but once I had tried pretty much all the products (except the radiant foundation) I had purchased and wasn’t happy with any of those I just decided to take everything back. It’s $9.99 but for that price I can just stick with my ganier micellar water for $7.

The final review

All in all I just feel like this line is kind of a starter line for younger people who are just starting out in makeup. Something to practice with or if they don’t really have any skin issues this line may work for them. I have more mature skin (I’m 32), I have naturally darker undereye circles and a few acne scars. I like a good full coverage foundation unless I’m using a BB cream for a quick face. I have combination/oily skin so a matte foundation is usually what I reach for. I took most of the line back with the exception of the 2 foundations because I couldn’t find the receipt and just replaced those with things I actually use and like. Hopefully in the future they do better with formulas and especially the shade ranges. A successful makeup line needs to be shade and skin inclusive to reach a broader audience.

Did you try any of the products in this line? What did you like? What didn’t you like? What do you feel the company can do better with in the future? Be sure to follow me on Snapchat @lolanicolemua for more makeup reviews and mini tutorial videos as well. I hope you beauties have a blessed day.

Hi Loves, I’m so excited to be starting this series with this first DIY project.

So I was looking around for a foyer table for weeks and I found a few cute ones I liked but they were either way more than I wanted to pay or sold out. So I decided to diy one. My husband got the idea to use crates after we were also looking for an entertainment center which we also did a diy on (I’ll have a blog up with that one as well) and I said what about palettes and we started looking up some different ideas and he came across a foyer table made out of wooden crates. So instead of searching around for palettes we decided on the crates and headed off to Home Depot to begin our projects. Below I will list items needed and photos of our step by step.

Items needed:

6 18”x12 1/2”x9 1/2” crates $11 each at Home Depot

1×12 board cut down to 56” for table top $15 at Home Depot

Legs (1 2×2 wooden stick .97 at Home Depot cut into 4 8” cuts)

5/8” brad staples $4.24 at Walmart

Staple gun (already had)

Wood Stain (I choose Kona semi-gloss a dark brown black)

Wood Glue (already had)

2” clamp (already had)

Measuring tape (already had)

Sprayer $10 at Home Depot

Stain rags $5

To begin:

Put the crates together to see how you want them organized and put together. It’s good to take a picture if you aren’t following a guide for your design so you don’t forget exactly how you put it together. (Like we did the first time, thank goodness nothing was glued yet, lolol.)

Once your mock up is done, start from the bottom and work your way to the top gluing all the sides together. Use the clamp to hold a section in place once you’ve glued it while you staple it down. Continue until all parts are glued and stapled together. Then glue and staple on the table top. Make sure both sides are equal in their overlap on the ends and the back of the board is flush with the back of the crates. There will be a bit of hang over in the front as well for a ledge.

Once the glue has dried or mostly dried (about 30 mins) then you can carefully move it outside or in the garage to start staining. There are a few different ways you can lay the stain. We choose both a brush and spray method. The sprayer mainly helped cover a lot of the table and then we brushed it out everywhere on the wood and then wiped it down with the rags. We let it dry over night even though the stain usually dries in about an hour or so depending on how many coats you apply.

Once stain has set and dried you can now apply your legs. Make sure all the legs are level and not crooked so you get a more even balance and no rocking. We glued the legs on and then used a drill and screws to screw in the legs on and secure them. Let glue dry and then you’re done. You can officially place the table where you want it and decorate as you wish.

Completed foyer measurements:

39 1/8″ H 56 1/8″ W 11 3/8″ D

I hope you enjoyed this DIY. It was actually pretty quick for the most part and it was certainly fun. The hubs and I really enjoyed it and it’s a great way to spend time together and catch up as well. Follow me on Snapchat @lolanicolemua for more fun diy sneak peeks and tag me on Twitter or Instagram @lolanicoleblogs if you try this DIY. I’d love to see how you made this your own if you decide to try it. I Hope you loves have an amazing day!

Hi loves! It’s been awhile but I’m back and hoping I can make my blog better than ever. Click the link below the photo to check out my YouTube video of my weekly Vlog with some clips of us off in New York on a mini Foodcation. Hope you enjoy.
Always Remember You’re Beautiful!

Ok so you know how in the magazines they have the beautiful pictures of the mother calmly and lovingly looking down at their baby while breastfeeding? They have a smile on thier face and they seem to be effortlessly feeding and bonding with the infant. Well let me just say that if breastfeeding was that easy everyone would do it.

But it’s not. It’s hard. It gets easier and yes it’s natural and your body knows what to do but it’s not just something you wake up and know what to do. Even if you’ve had more than one child it can be harder with one child then it was with the other. I have friends who say they couldn’t breastfeed at all, while some say it was easy and others say they dried up within a short few months despite breastfeeding exclusively the whole time. The issue I have with some is that they try and shame other women or make them feel bad for not being able to breastfeed of having to supplement with formula. As women and mothers we should applaud and encourage each other every step of the way. Motherhood is hard and not having support is harder.

Let me be the first to say I was one who thought well since it was easy the last time it will totally be easy this time. But um no honey I was wrong lol. With all 3 of my kids breastfeeding was different. My oldest daughter I could only breastfeed for 2 months, my son I breastfed and pumped exclusively with no issues what so ever for 8 months and with my youngest daughter it’s been a challenge every step of the way. I also feel like I had such a successful time breastfeeding with my son because I had so much help and the hospital I had him in was amazing. Whereas it seems I tend to have my daughters in hospitals that aren’t as helpful or attentive at all.

Breastfeeding for me has been rough the first 2 weeks being the worst. There was crying on many occasions from me. Sometimes while feeding her. I was extremely engorged for the first week and a half so much so that even pumping was excruciating and then by the time I worked through the pain and frustration of that my nipples were so sore and battered that it was still very sensitive and somewhat painful a time when breastfeeding.

Now 5 weeks later it’s so much better. The pain is gone for the most part and at times it’s just uncomfortable rather than painful. Pumping has been a challenge and since I’m going back to finish up my cosmetology license I have to pump for someone to feed her whole I’m gone. So I have had to supplement breast milk and formula but she’s transitioned well. I now breast and bottle feed her and she does well with both. When I am with her I rarely bottle feed so we still have that bonding time and so my milk supply stays consistent and continues to come in and when I’m gone I pump for her bottles.

I beat myself up for weeks and even cried because I had to supplement. Because some people and even a doctor told me not to. They made it seem as though I was feeding my child rat poisoning or something. I felt so bad and was made to believe she wouldn’t breastfeed or take my breast anymore because I was bottle feeding and because I was supplementing. Luckily I worked through that and she has proved that she will be fine and takes both breast and bottle very well.

Exclusively breastfeeding and not bottle or supplementing is great for a stay at home mom that doesn’t work or go to school and never goes anywhere without baby. But for moms who work, have school, run businesses, etc. sometimes you need to supplement or bottle feed. It’s life and baby won’t hate you for it or grow up not feeling loved as long as your loving on them and raising them right it will be fine. Your child won’t grow up to be a cereal killer because you didn’t exclusively breastfeed though that’s how some make it out to be lol. We should empower and encourage one another to do what we can as mothers. There is no wrong way to parent as long as the child grows up happy and healthy in my book. So this has been my breastfeeding journey so far.

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How was your breastfeeding journey? Was it smooth sailing or did you have issues? Talk to you soon dolls.

Hi lovelies it’s been a crazy few months for us with getting everything ready for the baby. Of course everything has to go wrong all at the same time or one after the other. But anyway here is my pregnancy vlog video for those who aren’t subscribed to my youtube channel. Hope you loves enjoy and I will have a new post up shortly.

So I watch the show extreme couponers. I also see the huge stashes these people have and I think, “Good Lord I don’t think I need 28 boxes of pasta noodles and 48 tubes of toothpaste, but she got it all for only 48 cents so I guess it’s worth it right? Lol.

Well after my extreme fear of becoming a hoarder or worse getting to the register and trying to use my coupons and they not work or my calculations are off by crazy amounts so I have a cart full of that toothpaste and those noodle boxes with a $200 total to pay, I decided to see how some other moms were saving big bucks on the items that they needed and some even donating or bartering items they didn’t need for things that they wanted.

As a makeup artist and extreme enthusiast of the beauty community in general I have since gained a lot of beauty products. Whether it be makeup, hair accessories and tools, etc. With that came a heafty price tag and I eventually had to slow down. I’m not some popular guru getting things sent to me for free all the time so I can’t just run out spending hundreds a month on things that half of I still have yet to even use or try.

Well I have seen some makeup lovers like myself getting all the makeup and hair accessories, etc for extremely cheap and sometimes free with the help of couponing. So there struck my interest in actually trying couponing since I could use it toward something I loved. Making both myself and my husband and our wallets happy (mainly his, lol). Especially now since we are trying to save to buy a house in the next 2 years. Money is important and with the economy in the toilet Lord knows we need to be saving. So here I am starting on my couponing journey.

As you can see I got right down to it. Clipping and sorting away for 3 hours. Only to end up going to the store and using not 1 of my coupons because none of them were either what I needed or what the store I was in would use. So I got home and realized there is so much more to the art of couponing. So I need to continue my research. It’s clearly not something you can just jump right into. But I will continue to update on my couponing progress and what I’ve bought and saved. It’s clearly harder than I thought lol.